The invention relates generally to the field of digital image processing. More specifically, the invention relates to a method and system for virtually placing an object on an image of a human appendage.
Technology has long existed to select parts of two images and combine them together into a single image. An interesting use of this technology is to virtually try on a piece of jewelry without visiting a physical store. A person can use existing technology to combine an image of a piece of jewelry (a wristwatch, a bracelet, a necklace, etc.) with a picture the person takes of the appropriate body part.
Carrying out this process, however, is cumbersome. The image of the object must be retrieved and stored on a computer. An image of the body part must be taken and also stored on the computer. The images have to be loaded into a computer program that allows general-purpose image manipulation. A configuration of the object, consisting of its angle of rotation, size, and position, generally must be estimated. The images must then be combined correctly and the result displayed.
With the widespread usage of mobile phones with cameras, the process is potentially much simpler. A person takes an image of a body part on a mobile phone and sends it to a computer, where a human operator scans the image for a region that is skin-colored and is bounded in part by two approximately parallel edges. The operator can use a specialized computer program to specify the proper configuration of the image of the object relative to the image of the body part. The image of the object is stored on the computer beforehand and can be obtained, for example, using a digital camera. The computer program transforms the image of the object according to the specified configuration, combines the images, and sends the result back to the person's mobile phone. However, this approach requires an expensive human operator, and if images are entering the system faster than the operator can process them, additional operators and expense will be required.
There exists a need for an automated method for overcoming the limitations mentioned above.